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South Sudan
Our Team
Senior Management
The UNDP Resident Representative (RR) is the accredited senior UNDP official in the country who represents, leads, and is accountable for, harnessing and directing the full potential of UNDP’s global capabilities, and those of its associated funds and programmes, in support of national development strategies and collaborative partnerships. The Resident Representative is supported by two Deputies, one for Programmes and one for Operations. The UNDP Office in South Sudan is made up of about 200 staff in South Sudan.
![Dr. Mohamed Abchir a man wearing a suit and tie standing in front of a curtain](/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-07/mohamed-abchir.jpg)
Dr. Mohammed Abchir
Resident Representative
Dr. Mohamed Abchir Aouale, PhD, brings over three decades of professional experience, with 23 years dedicated to the United Nations at various levels – nationally, regionally and globally, dealing with strategic, programmatic, and operational challenges. His expertise lies in navigating crises, post-crisis scenarios, and fragile settings across Africa, including complex UN Mission environments and humanitarian contexts. Notably, Dr. Abchir has e ectively engaged with governments, development partners, and NGOs on political and developmental issues in diverse, often sensitive, landscapes.
With a strong leadership background, Dr. Abchir has provided strategic guidance to UNDP Country Offices for more than 18 years, serving in a diverse range of managerial roles. Prior to his assignment at UNDP South Sudan, Dr. Abchir was the Resident Representative in Benin between November 2020 and June 2024. He previously worked at the Regional Bureau for Africa as Senior Country Advisor and Team Leader in charge of Eastern and Southern Africa (2018-2020), providing strategic, programmatic, technical, and operational support and advice to 21 countries in his region. He also served at UNDP Congo Brazzaville as Deputy Resident Representative - Programmes and Operations (2015-2018) and as Deputy Resident Representative - Programmes in UNDP Sierra Leone (2011-2015).
In 2013, he served in Sierra Leone as interim UNDP Country Director during a crucial moment in the country's history, when, after the 2012 elections, the United Nations Political Mission was drawing from the country. Under his leadership, UNDP supported the Government in this transition by setting up ambitious programs and mobilizing resources for several sectors to revive the national economy.
Dr. Abchir worked in Geneva, Switzerland, as Africa Regional Advisor for the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) (2005-2011) and the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (2001-2005). During his tenure, he successfully designed and coordinated several initiatives, and led post-crisis and post-disaster assessment missions, both from the headquarters as well as physically on the ground, in Haiti, Burkina Faso, CAR, CHAD, South Sudan. Outside UNDP, He worked for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy, as a consulting advisor (1999 and 2000).
Apart from his programmatic and operational roles, Dr. Abchir has a rich research background, having also worked as a researcher and academic. In Djibouti, Dr. Abchir was the Director of the Earth Sciences Department (1994-2001) at the Institut Supérieur d'Etudes et de Recherche Scienti ques et Techniques (ISERST), where he advised the Presidency of the Republic and various ministries on renewable energy, natural disaster management, job creation, and poverty alleviation, among other issues.
Dr. Abchir's track record re ects impactful leadership in partnership building and resource mobilization across various critical sectors such as elections, peacebuilding, sustainable development, and resilience building. His technical acumen in crisis recovery, disaster risk reduction, climate change, and natural resource management, coupled with a knack for fostering South-South cooperation, underscores his holistic approach to development challenges.
Moreover, Dr. Abchir's familiarity with issues in Central, East, and Horn of Africa bolsters his network with regional institutions, highlighting his adeptness in representing UNDP's interests and fostering regional collaboration. Fluent in English, French, and Somali, and moderate in Arabic, his multicultural background and passion for African development positions UNDP favorably in engaging with host governments and regional stakeholders.
Titus Osundina
Deputy Resident Representative, Programmes
Mr. Osundina has over 28 years’ experience in Leadership, Programme and Operations Management, Humanitarian support, Emergency relief, Sustainable Development and Peacebuilding.
He joined UNDP South Sudan in September 2022 from UNDP Burundi where he was Deputy Resident Representative, Programme and Operations after serving in the same position in Comoros Islands where he wore another hat as the COVID-19 Coordinator for the UN. Prior to that, he served as UNDP Deputy Country Director, Operations in Guinea Conakry, Tanzania and Burundi. Earlier on, he served as Operations Manager of the first UN Joint Office in Cape Verde.
Before joining UNDP in 2006, Mr. Osundina worked with UNICEF for over 13 years as the Deputy Resident Representative (Operations) in Cameroon, Mauritania and Congo Brazzaville. Titus joined the United Nations System as the first Head of Human Resources of UNICEF Nigeria after working for the Oyo and Osun State Governments and as a Lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Idah in Nigeria.
He holds a master's degree in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Diploma in Leadership in Public Policy and Advocacy for Children’s Rights, PRINCE 2 Certification and currently a Facilitator of UNDP Managing Successful Programme (MSP).
Mr. Osundina is a recipient of various Awards including the Certificate of Special Recognition by the RBA Director for exceptional performance and outstanding contribution to UNDP mission in 2021. Titus is a believer in people with focus on fostering human development through team works and creation of conducive working environment and highly motivated workforce.
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Debab Asrat Ynessu
Deputy Resident Representative, Operations
Debab Asrat Ynessu is a seasoned Operations Management professional with over 20 years of experience in Operations Management. She has served as a Deputy Resident Representative - Operations for UNDP in East, Central, and West Africa. Prior to joining the South Sudan Country Office Team in July 2023, Debab served in the same capacity at the UNDP Country Offices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.
Before joining UNDP, she held senior positions, the last one being serving as the Chief Financial Officer for Ethiopian Airlines, where she was in charge of the airline’s financial resources, including airline acquisitions.
Ms. Debab has a master’s degree in Business Administration and is a fellow of ACCA (Association of Chartered and Certified Accounts-UK). She is multilingual – fluent in French and English and her mother tongue, Amharic.